A Cuca 1924

Tarsila do Amaral made A Cuca, and it's currently at the Musée de Grenoble. The colours are so crisp and clear, aren’t they? It’s like a cartoon world. This has to have been such a fun painting to make! I wonder, what was Amaral thinking? I imagine they’d worked hard on their drawing skills, yet they were trying to play too, to loosen up - and these blobby shapes are the result. I can see her pushing the paint around, trying to make each form as round and solid as possible. The paint looks smooth and clean, a thin layer of oil sitting on the canvas. The green is so bright and even. Look at the little creature in the middle – its stripes are so bold! It’s a painting that feels like a conversation with other artists and their playful experiments. It allows for a bunch of interpretations. It’s lovely, isn’t it?